HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly, in particular the section on the matters entrusted to the Committee on Hemispheric Security (AG/doc.4376/05 add. 5);

REITERATING that the security of small island states has peculiar characteristics which render these states specially vulnerable and susceptible to risks and threats of a multidimensional and transnational nature, involving political, economic, social, health, environmental, and geographic factors; and that multilateral cooperation is the most effective approach for responding to and managing the threats and concerns of small island states;

AWARE that the small island states remain deeply concerned about the possible threats posed to their economies and maritime environment should a ship transporting potentially hazardous material, including petroleum and radioactive material and toxic nuclear waste, have an accident or be the target of a terrorist attack while transiting the Caribbean Sea and other sea-lanes of communication in the Hemisphere;

MINDFUL of the potentially disastrous impact of acts of terrorism on the stability and security of all states in the Hemisphere, particularly the small and vulnerable island states;

BEARING IN MIND the adoption by the General Assembly at this thirty-fifth regular session of resolution AG/RES. 2114 (XXXV-O/05),"Natural Disaster Reduction and Risk Management";

RECALLING ALSO that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegation recognized, as stated in the Declaration of Bridgetown, that the security threats, concerns, and other challenges in the hemispheric context are diverse in nature and multidimensional in scope, and that the traditional concept and approach must be expanded to encompass new and nontraditional threats, which include political, economic, social, health, and environmental aspects;

RECOGNIZING that the Second High-Level Meeting on the Special Security Concerns of Small Island States, held in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in January 2003, and resolution AG/RES. 1970 (XXXIII-O/03), which endorsed the recommendations of the said Second High-Level Meeting, as set out in the Declaration of Kingstown on the Security of Small Island States, both reaffirmed that the political, economic, social, health, and environmental integrity and stability of small island states are integral to the security of the Hemisphere; and

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that at the Special Conference on Security, held in Mexico City on October 27 and 28, 2003, member states addressed, in paragraphs 2 and 4 of the Declaration on Security in the Americas, the multidimensional scope of security and the new threats, concerns, and other challenges, and, in paragraph 8 of that Declaration, called for "renewed and ongoing attention to, and the development of appropriate instruments and strategies within the Inter-American system to address, the special security concerns of small island states, as reflected in the Declaration of Kingstown on the Security of Small Island States"; and noting also paragraphs 43 and 44 of the Declaration on Security in the Americas,

RESOLVES:

1. To continue to strengthen and enhance the agenda of the Organization of American States and the hemispheric security architecture by addressing the multidimensional nature of security.

2. To appeal to member states to collaborate with the small island states of the Caribbean with a view to developing effective ways of addressing the security issues of these small island states.

3. To instruct the Permanent Council to remain seized of the issues which impact the security of small island states, and, to this end, through its Committee on Hemispheric Security, to periodically hold a meeting dedicated to the consideration of the special security concerns of small island states, including the evaluation of progress made and the development of strategies for advancing the implementation of the relevant General Assembly resolutions.

4. To request that, in support of the small island states' efforts to address their special security concerns, the Committee on Hemispheric Security coordinate and maintain the necessary liaison with the organs, agencies, entities, and mechanisms of the Organization and other institutions and mechanisms related to the various aspects of security and defense in the Hemisphere, respecting the mandates and areas of competence of each, in order to achieve the application, evaluation, and follow-up of those provisions pertaining to the special security concerns of small island states in the Declaration on Security in the Americas.

5. To reiterate its request to the relevant organs, agencies, and entities of the Inter-American system, such as the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE), the Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP), the Consultative Committee of the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials (CIFTA), and the Inter-American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction (IACNDR), to support, within their areas of competence and programming, the continued efforts of the small island states to address their security concerns particularly with respect to:

a. Completing the development of the virtual private network to facilitate regional sharing of criminal intelligence and other relevant databases in the fight against terrorism;

b. Providing technical assistance to the small island states for the development of an implementation plan for the "Security Management Model on Special Threats, Concerns, and Challenges of Small Island States," adopted at the Second High-Level Meeting on the Special Security Concerns of Small Island States;

c. Increasing awareness and improving preparedness to combat and respond to acts of terrorism;

d. Assisting border control authorities in the small island states in accessing critical information; enhancing their border control systems and transportation security, including airports and seaport security; and strengthening their border control capacities;

e. Developing training programs to enable existing security entities in the small island states to meet the new security threats, concerns, and challenges;

f. Strengthening the capacity of small island states to fight against illicit trafficking in drugs and firearms;

g. Developing proposals for strategic planning and cooperation, and ways to deal with common threats; and

h. Continuing the simulation exercises that play an enormously important part in strengthening the capacity of these states to respond to their special security threats, concerns, and challenges.

6. To instruct the Secretary General of the Organization to continue providing the secretariat services required to carry out the measures envisaged in this resolution, in accordance with the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.

7. To instruct the Permanent Council and the Secretary General to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution.